A week after Payne and Prince Of Penzance shocked Australian racing with their 100-1 Melbourne Cup win, Manning claimed New Zealand’s most coveted pacing trophy with an all-the-way victory on Arden Rooney.

Manning has driven more than 3500 winners, but none have been as important as her triumph in front of a massive crowd at Christchurch’s Addington Raceway on Tuesday.

“This is the greatest win of my career,” Manning said.

“I remember watching this race as a young child thinking how great it would be to win and now the dream has been fulfilled.”

Manning took on the might of New Zealand’s biggest harness racing stables over the marathon 3200m and Arden Rooney did the rest after stepping away safely from a standing start.